Israel Ramps Up Desalination Facilities in Hadera

Last week, the Ministry of Finance signed an agreement for financing the expansion of the Hadera desalination plant by 27 million cubic meters per year. Not only will the plant be producing 127 million cubic meters of fresh water per year after the expansion, but the consumer purchasing price of the desalinated water will be the cheapest fixed price to date.

This expansion is part of a government initiative to expand the plants in Ashkelon, Palmachim, and Hadera by a total of 57 million cubic meters per year. The project is estimated to cost around a half billion NIS, and will be the largest ever infrastructure project funded by the European Investment Bank in Israel.

With a consumer purchase price established at NIS 2.6 per cubic meter, the state has made a commitment to purchase the desalinated water from the plants until 2027. The plants are operated by three separate companies: The Hadera installation is operated by H2ID, VID operates the plant in Ashkelon, and Via Maris runs the plant in Palmachim. In the coming months, it is hopeful that Israeli desalination of water will improve in quality, quantity, and economically as this method of obtaining water could be highly useful in Israel and in other water scarce areas of the world.